| Larder Lake | |
|---|---|
| Lake Present | |
 | |
  Larder Lake Location in Ontario | |
| Location | Timiskaming District,Ontario |
| Coordinates | 48°05′07″N79°38′32″W / 48.08528°N 79.64222°W /48.08528; -79.64222[1] |
| Type | Lake |
| Part of | Saint Lawrence Riverdrainage basin |
| Primary outflows | Larder River |
| Basin countries | Canada |
| Max. length | 12.5 kilometres (7.8 mi) |
| Max. width | 6.3 kilometres (3.9 mi) |
| Surface elevation | 274 metres (899 ft) |
Larder Lake is a freshwaterlake inTimiskaming District inNortheasternOntario,Canada.[1][2][3][4] The lake straddles theincorporated (municipal) townships ofLarder Lake andMcGarry and geographic McFadden Township. It is part of theSaint Lawrence Riverdrainage basin and is the source of theLarder River.
The Lake was previously known as Lake Present, but in 1906 was informally renamed by the group of prospectors who later openedChesterville gold mine.[5]
Larder lake has two large arms, Southwest Arm and Northeast Arm, and four bays: Fitzpatrick Bay in the southwest; and Dublin Bay, Northwest Bay and Spoon Bay at the northwest. A 5.5-kilometre (3.4 mi) long peninsula extends in the middle of the lake from south to north up to the Big Narrows, separating the lake into two parts. The major islands include Big Pete Island, Island CC and Island U.
Larder Lake has five named inflows: Sharp Creek and Benson Creek at the southwest; Pancake Creek to Northwest Bay; Bear Creek to the tip of Northeast Arm; and Milky Creek at the east. The primary outflow is the Larder River, at the southeast, which flows via theBlanche River,Lake Timiskaming and theOttawa River to the Saint Lawrence River.
The community ofLarder Lake (in the eponymous municipal township of Larder Lake) is located on the northwest shore of Spoon Bay, and the communities of Virginiatown and Kearns, both part of municipalMcGarry township, are located at the northeast end of Northeast Arm.
Ontario Highway 66 travels in an east-west direction along the north side of the lake, andOntario Highway 624 travels in a north-south direction along on the west side of the lake.
There are gold mines around Larder Lake, includingKerr-Addison Mine. The lake has been contaminated by mine tailings.[6] In 1992, theOntario Ministry of the Environment fined mining companyDeak Resources $50,000 due to polluting effluent discharged into the lake. Pollutants included heavy metals andcyanide.[7] In 1994, a study byEnvironment Canada documented "high concentrates" of nickel, gold, copper, lead and zinc in Larder Lake.[8]
The lake surface is generally frozen from mid-November to late April; however, the period of safe ice circulation is usually from mid-December to mid-April.[citation needed]